Sangatte, France. 27 July 1987: At the bottom of a 55m diameter and 60m deep vertical well, 450 workmen took turns night and day. Eleven specially built tunnel borers (six British and five French) made it possible to advance up to 500m a month

Cheriton, UK. 19 May 1994: British truck driver Roy Clementson (right), the first heavy goods vehicle driver to make the undersea channel crossing with the Eurotunnel freight service, about to enjoy some champagne

Coquelles, France. 20 February 2001: The grave of an asylum seeker near the entrance of the Channel tunnel. A would-be asylum seeker was crushed to death as he and four others tried to sneak into Britain from France on a Channel tunnel freight train

Frethun, France. 13 March 2002: Would-be immigrants attempting to find a way into the UK by stowing away on Eurotunnel freight trains. Security breaches at the rail freight yard forced the suspension of practically all freight services to Britain through the Channel tunnel

Coquelles, France. 1 October 2008: A Eurotunnel freight shuttle train transporting the burnt remains of a lorry. A blaze in the tunnel on 12 September halted traffic and caused chaos for travellers and freight

Paris, France. 3 March 2009: Eurotunnel CEO Jacques Gounon posing before presenting the group's 2008 full-year results. Eurotunnel said it would pay long-suffering shareholders their first dividend as it reported a 2008 net profit of £35m